


BloodCam: Christmas Traditions

by hollo



Series: Blood Trails - BloodCam AU [8]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Cheerful, Christmas, Christmas Tree, Emotional, F/F, Family, Feelings, M/M, Mulled wine, Multi, happiness, i don't know but it's sappy too, it's just a feel good fic okay, mix of traditions sorta, nochebuena, there's a cat, warmth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-10-01 01:14:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17234654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hollo/pseuds/hollo
Summary: ~Part of the BloodCam series~Keith might not have been a big fan of Christmas, more indifferent than anything else - but this, the first Christmas he's spending with Lance after having moved in with him , celebrating the holiday with a dinner with their friends, may be enough to change his mind on that fact and make the holiday one he can look forward to.





	BloodCam: Christmas Traditions

**Author's Note:**

> I tried to capture some spirit of Christmas here, while including maybe a little more from Lance this time around. There's a lot from his past that we just haven't touched on yet, and I think the holidays are one of those times where, when you're so far from your family, it gets a little wistful. You try to feel a bit closer to them, any way you can.
> 
> I did research on some traditions, and while this is obviously not going to be a perfect representation I hope I did okay. Please let me know if there's something that is so far off that I should change it, I would appreciate it!
> 
> Also - they all act a bit silly here. I hope you find it fine, in the context of things. This is supposed to be a cheery fic, after all.
> 
> You can always find me and find updates at:
> 
> [Itsdetachable on Twitter](https://twitter.com/itsdetachable)  
> OR  
> [JustBloodCamThings on Tumblr](https://justbloodcamthings.tumblr.com/)

There was the ever present and now familiar scent of balsam pine in the air when Keith got home on Christmas Eve, but joining it was a far more tantalizing scent though familiar scent that he couldn’t quite place. He sniffed at the air, wondering what it was that Lance was cooking up. He knew Lance had big plans - they’d invited Pidge and Hunk and Shay over for dinner that night to celebrate the holiday, and Lance was really excited about everyone coming over. He’d been planning that night’s dinner for weeks now, though he’d kept Keith in the dark about just what to expect.

Shaking the snow off his coat, Keith hung it up on the coat rack and kicked his boots off onto the cheery snowman rug next to the door. He could already hear the meowing on the other side of the second entry door they kept closed to keep the cold out, and the moment he opened it Feebs was on him, pawing at his legs and meowing in warbly greeting. Carefully he ushered her into the living room so he could close the door behind him, then turned to her and patted his chest. It was the signal she’d been waiting for, and she hopped up into her arms right away, rubbing her face against his neck and purring up a storm.

“Aren’t you needy today?” Keith chuckled, taking a look around the room. The tree stood in its corner, lit up already and sparkling with dozens of ornaments. Lance had overdone himself, Keith thought though not unkindly, having scoured dollar stores and thrift shops and sales for all sorts of Christmas decorations. Some of the ornaments they’d even made themselves, Lance sitting Keith down with craft supplies and more glitter than should ever be allowed inside a home for an entire Sunday. Keith still wasn’t sure how he’d survived that day without suffering an aneurysm or Christmas-induced psychosis - but he’d managed, and now that he could pick out their glitter-covered popsicle stick and blown egg ornaments on the tree he had to admit that it was nice. It was nice, seeing something they’d made together featuring so prominently in the decorations. Felt right.

And it was a little odd, to be honest. Keith, well, Keith didn’t care much for Christmas. Not that he disliked it, more like he just didn’t... _ do _ Christmas. Was kind of indifferent to it. Maybe it had something to do with how few good Christmases he’d had growing up, but whatever. He just didn’t care much for the decorating and the songs on the radio, or the whole shebang, so when Lance had asked what they were going to do for the holiday he’d just told him to do whatever he wanted to do and hadn’t thought much else of it. Lance, being  _ Lance _ , had run with the free rein given to him and Christmas had exploded in their apartment. The tree, yes, there was a tree - but there were also lights strung up across every wall near the ceiling in the living room, and a huge fake pine wreath on the front door that Lance had added ribbons to. There were at least four holiday candles of various scents in the living room and kitchen, two in the bedroom and even one in the bathroom - and Keith supposed he should be happy Lance wasn’t lighting them all up at once. Lance had even decorated the TV stand, spreading out fluffs of fake snow around the TV and setting up several wintery snow globes among it. He’d go through and shake each and every one of them at least once while he was home, more often if they were chilling in the living room with nothing else to do. 

The whole place looked damn festive, like the spirit of Christmas had thrown up a little in the apartment.

“So tell me Feebs,” Keith whispered to the cat still plastered to him, “What is Lance doing in the kitchen?”

Feebs just purred louder, tail swishing back and forth, and with a grin Keith kissed her furry little head and headed through the hallway. The faint notes of music he’d just barely heard when he entered grew louder, and as he peeked into the kitchen he saw Lance at the stove. He was humming along to the music and shaking his hips a little as he stirred something in a large pot with a wooden spoon. He apparently hadn’t heard Keith coming in, focused as he was on whatever he was cooking, so Keith took the moment to lean against the corner and just watch him be his adorable dorky self. He really couldn’t get enough of seeing Lance happy, just naturally happy like he was right then, bobbing along with the cheery Christmas song in his snowman covered apron. It was almost a shame when Lance turned away from the stove finally, yelping when he noticed Keith just standing there.

“Oh my fucking  _ god  _ Keith!” Lance gasped, nearly dropping the spoon. “What the fuck don’t sneak up on me like that!”

“I wasn’t sneaking,” Keith laughed, pushing away from the wall and stepping into the kitchen. “What’re you doing?”

“Getting dinner ready,” Lance replied, eyes lighting up though the smile that crossed his face seemed a little shy.

Keith moved closer, dropping a kiss to Lance’s cheek before leaning over to glance into the pot - and it finally clicked, just what that tantalizing scent in the air was, “Wait, is that  _ ropa vieja _ ?”

“Yeah.” 

Fuck yeah was more like it, thought Keith.

“It might be a little different than usual? I called my mom and asked her for her recipe and she gave me some pointers so I’m trying that out tonight, and I’ve got rice and beans in that second pot too, and-” Lance paused, biting his lip as he eyed Keith for a long moment. “You - you said I can do whatever with the whole Christmas thing, right?”

“Yeah?” Keith didn’t understand why Lance was being so… shy? Uneasy? “Why’re you acting like that?”

“Like what?”

“Like you’re going to drop some bad news on me or something?” Keith frowned, lowering his arms so Feebs could hop down onto the floor. She meowed up at him, looking a little puzzled at the sudden change, but he ignored her and focused on Lance, who was now really looking like he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t have been. Which was weird, because he wasn’t as far as Keith knew.

“It’s just - You know, I was just thinking, that maybe I’d do something like sorta traditional, maybe, but like traditional for  _ me _ \- and I was really excited about it! But now I’m thinking it sounds really self-centered, because I didn’t even ask  _ you _ about anything I just sort of - did it, just planned it-”

“Lance,” Keith said, firmly but evenly, trying to break through the word vomit. 

“It just that I got really,  _ really _ excited about doing something like what we did when I was growing up and I just started planning it and I wanted it to be a surprise for yo-”

“ _ Lance _ .” Keith tried again, a little more firmly, but Lance was apparently way too worked up because he just kept steamrolling on, waving the spoon in the air as he apparently tried to justify...Christmas? Keith didn’t know, but he figured he needed to head Lance off before he got himself too worked up. So he grabbed Lance’s hand, the one waving the spoon around, and placed his other hand on Lance’s cheek, and forced him to meet his eyes.

“I’m sorry.” Lance finished roughly, eyeing him with a little trepidation.

“I don’t know what you’re apologizing for,” Keith said, feeling really confused but trying to look as grounded as he could for Lance’s sake,  “I just wish you would’ve told me.”

“I know, I’m sorry-”

“No, I mean, you should’ve told me and I would’ve asked for today off and I could’ve helped you out getting dinner ready,” Keith interrupted forcefully, “I told you to do whatever you want, why would you think I’d get mad at you for doing  _ exactly _ that?”

“Because-” Lance groaned, “I don’t know, just because?”

“Yeah, that’s a great reason,” Keith rolled his eyes, and patted Lance’s cheek. “If you feel bad about not telling me before, then you can fix that by telling me about it now.”

Lance looked a little puzzled by that, so Keith elaborated, “All you ever said about Christmas with your family was that there were a lot of people and that your dad and uncles would roast a pig in someone’s backyard or something?”

“ _ That’s _ what you remember?”

“You went on about the pork forever.”

“I did not!” Lance said, obviously disgruntled if his frown and furrowed eyebrows had anything to say on the matter. “It was just really good, okay?”

“Right,” Keith backed off a bit then. “So are you going to tell me about it?”

“Y...yeah, I guess. Where do I start?” Lance looked a little flustered, like he hadn’t expected Keith to be interested or something. “So I mean, obviously I can’t do like everything that we’d do back home-”

“No pigs roasting in the backyard.”

“Why are you so hung up on that?” Lance gave Keith a good-natured little shove. “No, no roasting pigs, but that’s not the point of  _ Nochebuena _ , Keith! It’s about, you know, family and getting together and just like enjoying  _ being _ together for the holiday. There’s good food and sharing stories and just-”

Lance motioned with his hands, like he might be able to fish the words out of the air if he just tried hard enough.

“It’s just the whole thing.”

“Okay.”

“You’re totally not getting it.”

“Not really, but I mean,” Keith shrugged, “It sounds like its more about the experience.”

“It kind of is, I guess,” Lance said, looking down at the pot with a thoughtful frown. Then he glanced back at Keith and that shy smile came back to his face. “That’s, that’s kind of why I wanted it to be a surprise for you. So you could just live it, I guess. Instead of trying to read up on all these traditions or whatever. Does that make sense?”

“Sure,” Keith nodded, “So can I help?”

“Uh, yeah, I’m actually going to need your help with getting these ready,” Lance motioned to the table, and now that Keith looked at it he noticed the cutting boards and the two piles of plantains, one pile green and the other almost black. Now, Keith knew what plantains were, and he had an idea what they were going to do with them - Lance had made fried plantains a couple of times and they were fucking delicious. But, he was feeling a little cheeky that day, wanting to push Lance’s buttons just a tiny bit, just for fun. 

So, keeping his expression carefully schooled, he said cheerfully, 

“Oh, green bananas."

“ _ Plantains _ , Keith!” Lance said with amused exasperation. Keith turned his gaze to meet Lance’s and replied evenly,

“Green and  _ black _ bananas.”

“I hate you just a little bit, you know that right?” Lance said with a glare that lacked heat. “And just for that you’re going to have to peel them all, all by yourself.”

“Fine, let me get cleaned up first.”

It wasn’t long before Keith was joining Lance in the kitchen again. He was really feeling oddly  _ good _ that day. Like, really good. There had to be something in the air, or something, he didn’t know what, but everything just seemed a little brighter, a little more energetic, a little more...cheerful? He didn’t know what it was - he wasn’t usually the kind of person who got excited about Christmas, after all. Pidge didn’t celebrate it really, and Keith’s experiences had usually been either horribly underwhelming or plain ridiculous depending where he’d been at that point in life. At most, the years he’d spent living with Pidge Christmas had consisted of them giving each other crappy gag gifts and drinking way too much alcohol while making fun of the Christmas movies on TV. The last year had been the closest he’d come to what could’ve been called a real Christmas - he’d helped a little with setting up Lance’s Christmas tree, and they’d been invited to dinner at Hunk and Shay’s. But this year, with Lance wanting to host a Christmas dinner himself, and Keith having moved in with him, the feeling was completely different. Keith got to experience all of Christmas from the top - the tree and the ornaments and the songs and the whole deal. It had been a really, really long time since Keith had been in the middle of this sort of Christmas thing, it almost felt a bit alien to be surrounded by it all again. 

“So your family celebrated on Christmas Eve, right?” Keith asked as he got started on the green plantains; he really did want to know more about Lance’s life. Sometimes it felt like Lance was only glancing over the surface of his history, leaving the depths untouched, giving out only as much information as necessary and no more. Like he was trying to hide something, though Keith couldn’t tell just who he was trying to hide stuff from. But Keith wanted to know more; he wanted to know where Lance had come from, try to understand how it made him who he was, and he was usually so bad at starting conversations like that that he didn’t want to miss the chance offered to him that day. 

For a moment Lance didn’t respond - maybe because he was digging out a serving dish from a cabinet. When he brought it over to the table, though, Keith could see that wistful look in his eyes that appeared so often when he spoke about  _ home _ , and he thought that maybe he was just collecting his thoughts. Or maybe just remembering.

“ _ Nochebuena _ is like, a super big deal, especially for my family,” Lance started finally, leaning against the table as he watched Keith slice through the thick skin of the plantains. He didn’t look at Keith, just somewhere out there, somewhere else, as he continued, “There was a time when it was illegal to celebrate Christmas, you know? My  _ abuelitas _ \- my grandmas, and my grandpa, still remember it from when they were kids, so when they could actually celebrate it they really went all out. The cooking, the whole family getting together, and for my grandparents, they would really lean on the whole religious tradition too? They’d set up these nativity scenes in their homes that got like, more elaborate each year-”

Lance laughed at that, turning to Keith with a grin, “My  _ abuelitas _ totally had this silent competition with those, each year they’d try to find a way to make their nativity set  _ better _ somehow, adding figures or like, decorating the stable differently or whatever. It was great, you know, wondering what they would think of for the next year?”

Keith nodded, setting the next plantain onto the waiting dish. “Sounds like fun, but like a lot of work too.”

“Yeah, I guess it was, but it was just… I don’t know, Keith, the energy? It was something special. And even when I moved to Miami to live with my Aunt and Uncle we still had this great time in the neighborhood - we’d visit friends and they’d come visit us and then we’d all go to midnight mass together even though most of the kids would fall asleep halfway through it,” Lance looked away then, but Keith could see the way that wistfulness came back full force, the way it filled and darkened his eyes and set a weight on his shoulders. “I just miss it, I guess.”

Keith didn’t like it. He didn’t like that Lance had to miss his family, and his memories, he didn’t like that it had to make him so sad. He knew something about missing people, about having memories that felt so good that remembering them just made you feel so, so  _ bad _ . He just - he didn’t know what to do with it, how to help Lance, other than to ask and to listen and let him remember his family and his childhood again.

“It sounds-” Like a lot of  _ everything _ , if Keith was being honest. Maybe too much of everything - he wasn’t sure he’d be able to handle that much stimulation in one day. “-like it must’ve been amazing, to be a part of it.”

“Yeah,” Lance said softly. He cleared his throat, wiping that wistful look off his face with practiced ease to replace it with a grin instead. “Anyways, how are those plantains coming along?’

“Almost done with the green ones,” Keith said, starting on peeling the last one in fact. Part of him really wanted to push at it and keep Lance talking, but the other part of him recognized the strain at the edges of his grin, the sad tilt of his eyebrows, and thought that maybe it’d be better to let him drop it right then. “What’re we gonna do with these?”

“Those are gonna get sliced thick, and fried twice,” Lance said, then pointed at the nearly-black pile of plantains. “And those are gonna get like, diagonal cut? And fried, but only once.”

Keith couldn’t remember what kind they’d made before, but he was down for anything.

“Are we doing it right away?” 

Lance pulled out his phone, tapping the power button. His eyes widened slightly, and he turned to Keith with a tiny bit of panic in his eyes, “Shit, it’s seven! They’re gonna be here in like, an hour.”

“Okay, what else do we have left?” Keith continued methodically peeling the plantains.

“I put the pork roast in already like just before you came in, so really it’s only these guys,” Lance waved at the plantains, “But we still gotta get changed!”

Keith pulled the last piece of peel off of the plantain in his hands and dropped it on top of the pile, eyeing his boyfriend with mild amusement as he spun around one way, then the other, like he wasn’t quite sure what he should be doing at the moment.

“I can go get changed first, and then cut up the plantains?” Keith offered, knowing that Lance would probably take way more time getting changed than he did. 

“Yeah, okay, and then I can go get changed while you’re cutting them up,” Lance put his hands on his hips, eyeing the kitchen critically. “I”ll cut the first one of each so you know how big to make the pieces?”

“That’ll work.” Keith agreed, trading places with Lance at the table and leaving him to it. It didn’t take long for him to get changed at all - he just put on his nice pair of black jeans and a vaguely wintery themed green sweater Lance had gotten him, and made sure his hair wasn’t a mess. He’d need to get it trimmed soon, he thought as he looked at himself in the mirror, it was nearly past his collar and starting to get to that annoyingly unmanageable length he hated. 

Getting back to business in the kitchen meant having a cooking apron shoved over his head, courtesy of Lance, so he wouldn’t get his nice clothes dirty. Lance had left the sliced plantains out on the cutting board for Keith to see, so he got to work on peeling the remainder of the ripe ones and cutting them all up. Lance bustled off to get ready, popping in and out of the bedroom and bathroom multiple times because he either forgot something or forgot to  _ do _ something or just needed to remind Keith to check on the roast when the timer beeped - it took Keith shaking the knife at him and threatening to make a mess of the plantains if he didn’t get out of the kitchen before Lance finally got his things together and headed for the bathroom.

“I just want it to be good, you know?” He called as he went, “It’s my first time hosting something like this!”

“It’s going to be fine, Lance, just get ready so you’re not in your underwear when the guests arrive!” Keith rolled his eyes, dutifully going about slicing and cutting up the plantains as directed. 

Lance was, actually, probably still in his underwear when the doorbell rang the first time. He was certainly still in the bathroom, so Keith wiped his hands off and headed to answer the front door, Feebs racing along with him. 

“Merry Christmas, Loser,” Pidge greeted him, a large box in her arms.

“What the hell did you bring over?” Keith grunted as the box was unceremoniously shoved into his arms.

“Matt sent me a recipe for mulled wine that I thought we could try tonight,” Pidge said, digging through the items in the box. Keith, being the awesome best friend he was, bent his knees and lowered the box as much as he could so she wouldn’t have to get up on her toes to reach inside.

“A-ha! All right, You can take that to the kitchen,” Pidge said after a moment, a pile of cheerfully wrapped presents in her arms. “I’ll toss these under the tree, right? Man, I can’t believe I actually had to buy like,  _ real _ presents  _ again _ .”

“That’s apparently what happens when you have friends that like you, or something,” Keith called over his shoulder, carrying the box to the kitchen. He set it on a chair and looked the contents over, noting the red wine and the apple cider and cinnamon sticks, and a paper bag of...something. He picked it up and sniffed at it, but it smelled just mostly like a brown paper bag. 

“Hey Lance!” Pidge’s voice rang out in the hall, and then she was in the kitchen, pulling the bag out of Keith’s hand and motioning at the stove.

“We need a pot, a big one I think.” 

“How big?”

“The biggest you have that’s clean? I don’t know,” Pidge shrugged, opening the paper bag herself and spilling out a handful of plastic baggies, all full of different...things. Spices, maybe, Keith thought, for the mulled wine.

“Don’t you have a recipe that should say how big the pot is?”

“Yeah, I do,” Pidge picked up the bottle of wine and headed for the shelves. “You got a corkscrew in a drawer somewhere- ah, got it! Just pull a relatively big pot out, okay? It’s not rocket science.”

“You know, considering you’re practically a rocket scientist and definitely a programmer who can do computations in her head, you’d think you would have calculated the exact size of the pot you’d need,” Keith grumbled, squatting down to dig through the cupboard under the counter.

“It’s a holiday, Keith. I don’t work on holidays.”

Tugging out the largest pot they had available, Keith set it on the stovetop next to the pot of  _ ropa vieja _ and watched as Pidge poured the entire bottle of wine into it.

“Have you ever had mulled wine?” She asked, setting the bottle aside and grabbing the bottle of apple cider.

“No, you?” 

“Nope. I’m gonna use a mug for this,” Pidge said, opening a top cabinet and pulling one out. “Matt said this was a hit when he made it for-for his friends, so I thought I might give it a try.”

Keith caught her almost-slip up, the way her eyes flickered wider just a fraction when she caught herself, and for a second a horrible, wretched, guilt-flavored curiosity woke in him - but nope, not tonight. He quashed it before it could even get started, before it could become something that started eating away at him - not tonight. He’d decided, way back when Lance had first proposed inviting their friends over for dinner, that he was going to make damn sure the night went as smoothly, as best, as possible, and he wasn’t going to let himself be the one to ruin it.

“I guess we’ll see just how good it is,” He said with a grin that felt a little strained, but worked just the same. 

“Oh, what’re you two doing?” Lance popped into the kitchen, looking freshly showered and dressed in a bright blue and white holiday sweater that made his eyes pop even bluer than usual. He made a beeline to the stove, hovering around Pidge as he peered into the pot. “What is that?”

“Mulled wine.” Pidge replied, tearing open one of the plastic baggies of spices. 

“I have  _ never  _ had mulled wine before, is it good?” Lance asked, looking at Keith. Keith just shrugged in response, and Pidge snorted as she shook out the spices from the baggie.

“That makes three of us!” She said, grabbing the next spice.

“So, if none of us have ever tried it, how are we going to know if it came out right or not?” Lance asked, hands on his hips. 

“I guess...if it tastes good, then it’s good?” Keith offered. 

“You make a good point,” Lance nodded.

“Don’t you two have anything else to be doing other than taking up all my personal space?” Pidge asked, grinning as she bumped her hip into Lance.

“Hey, shortstack, this is my kitchen, I can take up any space I want!” He shot back, bumping her back hard enough for her to stumble a step to the side.

“Keith, get your boyfriend under control!” She laughed, trying to shove her way back in front of the stove while Lance kept fighting to hold her back. 

“You started this one yourself,” Keith crossed his arms, leaning back against the counter to watch as the two kept trying to hip-check each other into submission. 

“If you don’t let me dump these stupid spices we won’t have any mulled wine!”

“If you don’t let me get to the oven we’ll be eating a pork brick instead of a roast!”

“Ugh, fine,” Pidge backed down, “But I’m not doing it for you, I’m doing it for the food.”

“Noted,” Lance grabbed the meat thermometer from the counter and pulled open the oven to check the temp. “All right, we’re good! Babe, grab some foil for me so we can cover this? Oh, and Pidge, give me the gloves.”

The doorbell rang again just as Lance was folding the edges of the foil down around the roast.

“I’ll get it! Hunk might need some help, he’s bringing some food too, don’t turn the oven off in case he needs to toss something in there,” Lance said, dashing out of the kitchen.

“He’s like, super excited, isn’t he?” Pidge asked, tossing the rest of the spices into the pot.

“Yeah, I think it’s kind of a big deal for him, the whole Christmas Eve dinner thing,” Keith said, “It’s a tradition.”

“Ah, I see,” Pidge nodded. “Makes sense, that he’d be so -  _ Lance _ about it. Did it take long to get the food and everything all ready?”

Out in the living room, Keith could hear the loud greetings, and almost as loud meows, as Lance opened the door. 

“I...don’t know. Lance didn’t really tell me much about anything, he said he wanted it to be a surprise,” Keith admitted, crossing his arms again. “I would’ve helped if he asked.”

“It probably does mean a lot to him, if he was trying to do everything by himself.” 

Keith was going to defend his honor and remind Pidge that he  _ was _ helping, the plantains didn’t slice themselves, but the sound of footsteps in the hallway grew and Shay came into the kitchen, carrying a large paper bag that she set gently on the counter. 

“Hello Pidge, Hello Keith! Merry Christmas Eve!” She greeted them, giving them each a hug in turn. She was all smiles as she pulled the contents of the bag out, obviously in a cheerful and outgoing mood. It was kind of nice to see, this side of her came out pretty rarely. “We made this fried dough from a recipe that Lance got from his mom, I think they came out quite well! And we brought rice pudding, and Hunk made his scalloped potatoes.”

“Yeah, they’re not exactly traditional, right, but Lance insisted,” Hunk said as he walked into the kitchen, the large glass pan of the mentioned potatoes in hand. 

Lance followed close behind, a serious look coming to his face as he replied, “Hunk, I would die before I said no to your scalloped potatoes.”

“No need for anyone to die, okay?” Hunk chuckled, “Mind if I pop these in the oven to keep ‘em warm?”

The kitchen quickly started feeling crowded with all five of them in there hovering around the stove and the countertops. Lance started pulling the plates out of the cabinets, handing them off to Keith, while Pidge stirred the pot of mulled wine and Hunk and Shay started helping with the plantains. It was just the tiniest bit claustrophobic, just enough that when Keith headed to take the plates to the dinner table in the living room he could feel the relief of being able to breathe again. But, it somehow wasn’t  _ bad _ . He considered that as he lay the plates out on the table; that despite the tight quarters in the kitchen, it felt somewhat cozy almost. Familiar. It certainly didn’t make him want to run away and like, hide in the bedroom. No, it was definitely nice - and when he headed back to the kitchen he could  _ feel _ himself grinning.

The bustle, the laughter, the chatter and the closeness, it all felt a bit strange to him, but in the best way possible. Like he was relearning all of this, all of this being social and having fun with other people-ness. It felt like he was really starting to feel - fuck, to feel  _ at home _ . Like these were  _ his _ people, his friends, like they were really all in it together or something.

Damn holidays, getting him all emotional and sappy with  _ feelings _ . He blamed the ball of warmth situating itself firmly within his chest on Lance and his unending enthusiasm for the season, and headed back into the bustle of the kitchen with a wide and honest grin.

 

-

 

Dinner really did go well. Fuck, it went _ amazing _ . It felt like it went on for ages, but in such a warm and comfortable way that Keith barely noticed that time was passing. Lance and Hunk had tag-teamed frying the plantains, and Keith may have devoured half of them all by himself the moment they hit the table. Maybe. He wasn’t admitting to anything. Pidge had attacked the  _ ropa vieja _ like her life depended on it, harassing Lance about sending some home with her while she did, while Shay had tried to make sure that everyone got a bit of everything on their plates, doling out the slices of pork roast - which they had to be careful to keep from Feebs, who had no qualms about jumping into people’s laps if it meant getting closer to the glorious food that was otherwise out of her reach. The mulled wine turned out to be delicious, and they were all on seconds - okay, maybe thirds - by the time they’d left the dinner table to lounge on the couch, taking the fried dough and the remaining  _ tostones _ and  _ maduros _ with them. 

“Remember our first year at the Garrison?” Hunk was saying, a soft look on his face, as he settled into the corner of the couch, Shay sitting down close to him. “We couldn’t wait for our break?”

“Yeah, oh man,” Lance laughed; he’d leaned hard against Keith’s side the moment they’d sat down on the couch, Keith’s arm finding its place around his waist. “The Garrison shop had these little Christmas trees but they were like, thirty bucks or something? And we’d spent all our money on gifts for back home?”

“But we just really, really wanted a tree for our dorm-”

“So we snuck out one night to go find a Christmas tree!”

“But the ones at the store cost way more and all we ended up with was like, three pine branches?” Hunk laughed, motioning as he spoke. “Guys, you should’ve seen it - we had these sad little tree branches in like, a jar of water on our desk. Lance made this teeny tiny paper chain garland for them.”

“Made it out of Starburst wrappers,” Lance added on, a little proudly. “So it’d be all colorful and stuff. And then Hunk got pieces of metal scraps from the shop to make little ornaments.”

“Dorks,” Pidge snorted, sipping at her wine.

“I think it is adorable,” Shay said, brushing a hand through Hunk’s hair. “My first year of college, I could not afford to go home for winter break, so my friends and I would visit the Christkindlmart every week, almost every other day, all through December.”

“Oh, Keith!” Lance slid down a little lower at Keith’s side so he could tilt his head back and look up at him. “We totally have to go next year! We gotta go, and-and get hot chocolate, and look at all the ornaments!”

“It is always so pretty and festive,” Shay said with a sigh.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been downtown during the holidays,” Keith admitted, trying to remember if he had. “Definitely never been to the chris-whatever thing.”

“Christkindlmart,” Lance supplied, “And we’re definitely going next year. I can’t believe I forgot to take you out there this year.”

Well, how could he say no when Lance was asking so nicely, and looking all cute with his bright, eager grin and his eyes all sparkling in the lights like that? It couldn’t be anything too bad, even if it was apparently some sort of big Christmas… thing that went on for a month.

“Okay.” Keith agreed, and he could swear the sparkles in Lance’s eyes got brighter, like blindingly so. 

“When you do go, get ready for crowds of people, and carolers, and a whole ton of bright lights  _ everywhere _ ,” Pidge said, dampening Keith’s enthusiasm just a  _ tiny _ bit. “I’m going to grab some more wine, anyone else want anything while up up?”

“Ooh, I’ll go with you to get some too. Shay?” Hunk took her mug when she offered it, while Pidge grabbed Lance’s when he held it out to her.

“What time is it, babe?” he asked as the two headed to the kitchen.

“Can’t tell, you’re laying on my phone,” Keith chuckled, running his fingers across Lance’s side where he knew he was ticklish.

“St- _ op _ ,” Lance practically giggled, squirming ineffectually. 

“It is almost midnight,” Shay supplied, amused, from the other side of the couch.

“Oh!” Lance perked up, pushing himself to sit up straighter. “It’s almost time!”

“Yes!” Hunk exclaimed, coming back into the room with a tray of refilled mugs in hand. “How much time is left?”

“Twenty minutes to twelve,” Shay said, accepting the mug Hunk offered her.

“Are you ready for your presents?” Lance asked Keith, elbowing him lightly in the side. “Are you?”

“Maybe,” Keith went for nonchalance, and it earned him a harder elbow in the ribs from Lance.

“You know, maybe you don’t need your presents tonight,” Lance said with a pout that didn’t look all that real. “Or ever. Never.”

“Well, I certainly want  _ my _ presents,” Shay said with a laugh. “Are we waiting for midnight exactly?”

“Yes!” Lance said, grabbing his own mug off the tray that Hunk had set on the coffee table. “Exactly at midnight.”

“Ooooh, are we going to do a countdown? Or should we sing some songs?” Hunk asked, grin wide as he looked around their little circle.

“No, no more songs!” Pidge shook her finger at Hunk. “You sang songs all through dinner!”

“Aw, Pidge, it’s the last moments of Christmas Eve!” Lance’s pout returned. “You don’t want to be the Grinch, do you? Stealing all the good vibes?”

“Ugh, fine,” Pidge groaned, but she was grinning as she dropped back onto the armchair. “What do you want to start off with?”

That question, unfortunately, set off a discussion about which song was naturally the best - that grew into an argument over  _ which _ songs should be included: carols, pop songs, or both, and in what language - and eventually culminated in Lance and Hunk singing two completely different songs and trying to outsing each other in progressively louder volumes while striking ridiculous poses in front of the couch. The mulled wine was apparently in full effect, Keith though with a chuckle.

“It’s a really good thing our neighbors are out of town for the holiday, but I think I might need some more of this shit-” he held up his mug “- if they’re going to keep singing like this.”

“Well, they should probably stop,” Shay glanced at her phone. “Because it is midnight, they are going to miss it.”

“Hey,” Pidge called out, trying to be heard over the quickly-growing-off-key singing. “It’s midnight!”

“Lance!” Keith reached out to swat at Lance’s ass, which may not have been the closest part of him within reach but was certainly the one that would get a reaction. 

“What, Keith? I’m in the middle of something!” 

Yup, guaranteed.

“It’s midnight,” Keith answered, leaning back against the couch again. He watched as Lance’s eyes, narrowed with irritation and probably concentration on the song he’d been singing, widened comically, and a grin spread across his face again.

“Oh! Oh okay, okay!” Lance looked at Hunk, “It’s midnight!”

“Presents?” Hunk asked, looking giddy.

“Presents!” Lance confirmed.

Lance and Hunk made a mad dash for the tree, dropping to their knees in fron tof it to look over the presents. They had to get past Feebs first, though; she’d spread out on her back right in front of the presents, and though she’d flicked an ear when they’d knelt down she hadn’t looked away from the shiny snowflake ornament she was delicately batting.

“Feebs, sweetie, out of the way we need to get the presents.” Lance gently tugged her out from under the tree, ignoring her offended meows, before turning to Hunk,  “So who’s gonna pass them out, me or you?

“What are you two, five?” Pidge teased good-naturedly, leaning on Hunk to try and see over his shoulders. “Let me see the ones I brought, I want to hand them out myself.”

“Here,” Hunk moved over, giving her room. “Oh my god, Pidge, is that Christmas themed  _ circuit board _ wrapping paper?”

“Yes it is!” Pidge held a wrapped present up high. “Shay, this one’s for you!”

“Here, this one too while you’re here,” Lance said, handing over the present he and Keith had picked out for her too.

“This one is for Lance, and this one is for you Keith,” Hunk handed them their presents, each medium sized box wrapped in paper with santa-hat wearing puppies on it. “And this one is for Pidge.”

Pidge took hers, and continued handing out the rest of the presents she’d packed. Keith’s was last, a very-obviously gift card shaped one. He was pretty sure he already knew what it was, considering her cheeky grin.

“Can’t break with tradition, can we?” Pidge laughed.

“Nope, and that’s why you’re doing the heavy lifting with your present,” He replied, toeing a large box out from beside the tree.

“Yes! Thank you!” Pidge granted him a tight, rib crushing hug, before she dropped to the ground and pulled the box closer.

“What is that?” Shay asked Keith as he headed back to the couch.

“A case of Venom.”

“It’s an energy drink,” Lance clarified for Shay, who looked puzzled after Keith’s short answer. “It’s also like, 95% of what flows through her veins.”

“Oh sweet! A Recipe Journal!” Hunk cried out, tossing wrapping paper aside and holding the journal aloft, “Shay, look!”

“That is perfect,” Shay smiled, “Hunk was saying he wants to experiment more with recipes as a New Years resolution.

“And now I have somewhere to put down all my ideas!” 

“Open yours, Shay,” Lance prompted, “Go on.”

She grinned, moving the present onto her lap to delicately unwrap the paper. Keith watched her closely, waiting to see her reaction, hoping it was positive. The wooden box that appeared from beneath the paper was unmarked, and unassuming, but when Shay unlatched the cover and opened it her eyes lit up.

“Are these...did you really…?” She gasped, holding up a flat stone with an imprint of a trilobite on it. “Hunk, look!”

“Oh that’s so cool!”

“There’s some crystals in here as well, and different types of stones,” Shay sorted through the items inside happily.

“Keith found it online and he thought you might like it,” Lance said, shooting Keith a wink and a grin. “There’s a list inside of all the specimens, and they’re all numbered so you can match them up.”

“Thank you two so much,” Shay grinned at them each in turn. “I love it.”

“Oh, open ours guys!” Hunk said, looking over at Keith and Lance eagerly. “Together, you have to open them at  _ same time _ .”

“All right, all right,” Lance laughed, looking up at Keith with a smirk and a glint in his eyes. “Last one to open their present has to do the dishes - and  _ go _ !”

Keith didn’t waste time arguing that Lance had just absolutely cheated - he tore away at the wrapping paper on the box in his hands immediately, trying not to let Hunk’s dismayed cries get to him. The wrapping paper, with its adorable santa puppies, was shredded and tossed to the wind, and soon he was popping off the top of the box and peeking inside.

“Was I first?” He asked, risking a look around. Lance had his box open too, and seemed to be giving everyone the same expectant look that Keith was.

“Honestly?” Hunk said, looking slightly pouty, “I don’t think anyone was paying attention.”

Shay giggled, shooting him a mischievous look, “Well, I think I saw-”

“NO ONE WAS PAYING ATTENTION.” Hunk reiterated, crossing his arms and giving his girlfriend a stern look. She laughed outright at that, trying to smother it behind her hand.

“What’s in yours?” Lance asked, sitting up straighter to try to peek inside Keith’s box.

“It’s a scarf,” Keith tilted the box to show him the really pretty looking maroon scarf coiled inside. “I think there’s something else though."

“I got a scarf too,” Lance said, picking his up out of the box. It was gradient of teal to blue, and as he went to unfold it something dropped into the box. “What’s that?”

Keith turned back to his box, expecting something similar, and sure enough among the folds of the scarf he found it - a tissue wrapped  _ something _ that turned out to be a ceramic christmas ornament of a red tabby kitten popping out of a green present box, the current year painted along the bottom edge.

“That’s adorable,” Lance said, and Keith looked over to find that Lance had a similar ornament, only his was of a gray tabby kitten with bright blue eyes, popping out of a green box.

“It is a little silly, but I thought the idea was cute,” Shay said a little shyly, though obviously pleased.

“Look Keith, our first matching ornaments!” Lance said, grinning brightly up at him. 

And it - it triggered something inside of Keith, something that shuddered a little, maybe even in trepidation - because  _ first _ implied a  _ second _ , and maybe even a  _ third _ \- it implied more christmases and more years. It implied being together, in the future, and  _ the future _ had always been such a dark unknown in Keith’s life.

But - he thought, as the shudder inside of him turned from trepidation to something warm and excited - but if every Christmas was like this, as bright as this, then how could he not look forward to it?

He grinned back at Lance, suddenly feeling so wrapped in  _ comfort _ and  _ home _ that it almost felt impossible that that moment existed, and that he was existing within it as part of it.

And then, because no perfect moment lasts forever, Pidge let out a “Bombs Away!” and tossed a present straight at Lance’s face.

“Pidge!” 

“That one’s yours, don’t worry it’s not breakable!”

It turned out to be a pair of Reindeer Christmas slippers with a bath bomb tucked into each one. She’d gotten Hunk some sort of multitool that he got really excited over, and Shay a really interesting looking geode candle holder. 

Keith was trying to get a good look at it while Shay was holding it out, but apparently Lance just couldn’t wait to give him his present because, suddenly and without warning, a box with a giant glittery bow was waved in front of his face. For a moment Keith wanted to swat it away, but he settled for shooting Lance a dirty look instead as he grabbed at it.

“Come sit down here with me and  _ open it _ ,” Lance said cheerfully, patting the ground next to him. Keith obliged, grinning when Lance threw an arm over his shoulder.

“Maybe you should open yours too,” Keith said softly, looking at the box in his hands. Lance had done a good job wrapping it, every corner even, the big bow sitting in just the right spot at the corner. The paper was a shiny holographic red with sweeping white patterns all across it; Keith almost felt bad that he was going to unwrap it. He wanted to keep it for a while, savor it for all it was worth.

“Nuh-uh,” Lance replied, almost as softly, and laid his chin on Keith’s shoulder. “I want to know if I did good.”

Keith shook his head, but he couldn’t stop grinning, even when the tape was being difficult and didn’t want to tug free. He trid to be as delicate as Shay as he unwrapped it - part of him want to hole the wrapping paper away somewhere afterwards, hide it so he could go back and pull it out and hold it again, and remember that night. Maybe, maybe he would. 

Pulling the last bit of tape free, he was left with a regular sort of cardboard box that had been taped shut with a Christmas themed tape. Lance was still so close, practically vibrating with anticipation - so Keith did the only thing he could think of doing: started to carefully peel the tape off of the box instead of ripping straight through it.

“Babe?” Lance asked, voice soft.

“Yeah?” Keith replied, slowly trying to pry up one corner of the tape.

“What are you doing?”

“It’s pretty tape.” 

“We have an  _ entire roll just open it _ .”

It was kind of amazing, really, that Lance could get that much  _ tone _ into his voice while still speaking softly. Keith chuckled as he finally tore through the tape, lifting the flaps of the box. Inside was a layer of glittery tissue paper, but beneath that he found a folded up, brand new X-Files tee, which was awesome because his old one was really on its last legs out.

“There’s one more thing,” Lance nudged him with his chin, and Keith dropped the shirt to dig into the box again. He came up with a mug, that at first look had some weird sort of symbolism shit going on in white lines on a black background. Keith stared at it, puzzled, for a long moment before the lines starting making sense, coalescing into an image that suddenly seemed very familiar.

“Is that… the Flatwoods Monster?” Keith turned to Lance so fast he almost knocked their heads together, but it didn’t matter because Lance - Lance had gotten him a cryptid mug of his-

“That’s your favorite one, right?” Lance beamed, somehow managing to look both smug and honestly happy at the same time. “There’s this cryptid tarot set thing I found and I knew I had to get this for you!”

Keith wrapped an arm around Lance and pulled him even closer, “Thank you, it’s great, it’s really great.”

Lance laughed, hugging him back tightly, “I guess I have to open mine now too.”

Keith put his mug and shirt carefully back into the box, and set is aside so he could watch Lance. It wasn’t anything super special, though he knew Lance had wanted it - Keith had another present set aside for later, one he wanted to give Lance when it was just the two of them. But apparently he hadn’t gone wrong with the one he’d picked to give Lance then, because as soon as the wrapping paper was off and the box was opened Lance was hugging him again.

“Yes! Thank you Keith - thank you!” 

“What’d he get you?” Pidge asked, trying to lean over to see past Lance’s side.

“It’s the Pacific Rim box set!” Lance said, digging back into the box with one hand to pull another, this one with a clear plastic window showing off the dragon-like figurine inside. “And an Otachi figure!”

“Oh yeah, that is an  _ excellent _ Kaiju.” Hunk nodded. “Wouldn’t want to meet it, but I can appreciate it.”

“Isn’t that the one with the baby Kaiju inside?” Shay asked, looking at Hunk.

“Yeah, it is,” Hunk confirmed. “That poor baby, though.”

“Poor Baby? It would’ve eaten like,  _ everyone _ if it got half a chance,” Pidge laughed.

“Yeah, but was that really any way to go?”

The discussion went on, but Keith was distracted from it by Lance pressing close again, dropping a soft kiss on his cheek. He turned to look at him and found himself lost for a moment - the tree lights lit up Lance’s eyes like colored stars, and the soft, easy grin on his face was so sweet and fond that it had something inside Keith’s chest squeezing way too tight in a way too wonderful way.

“Thank you,” Lance said again, soft and low and all Keith could do was grin, and kiss him, and wish for the night to never end.

 

-

 

Their guests had to go home eventually, though. Pidge got her tupperware of  _ ropa vieja _ and some pork besides, though Hunk and Shay had declined considering they were going to visit Shay’s family for dinner the next day. They all bundled up for the cold, and after a cheery round of hugs they headed out. 

Inside, the wrapping paper had been gathered up in a bag to the side, the presents lay slightly haphazard on the coffee table, and though the lights twinkled just as brightly and the tree stood just as tall, everything somehow felt colder and emptier.

Or maybe Keith had just had too much mulled wine and emotions that day, and it was all starting to get to him.

“I have something else for you,” He decided to say, instead of continuing to think about how big the apartment seemed now that their friends had gone. Lance looked over at him, puzzled at first, but then a wide grin crossed his face.

“I, I got something else for you too.” He admitted, “Wanna sit on the couch or on the floor?”

“Couch,” Keith said, stepping to the side of the tree and reaching for the box he’d placed there a few days earlier. There was another one hidden back there too, a larger one that weighed significantly more than he thought it would considering its size.

“Is this it?” He asked, showing it to Lance and Lance nodded. They settled on the couch, presents in their lap, and for a moment neither one of them moved.

“So,” Lance started suddenly, eyeing Keith. “Did, did you like it?”

“Tonight?” Keith looked back at him, “Yeah, it was fun. I think it was a….really good idea, Lance.”

“Really?” Lance beamed, but in a shy and soft sort of way. He snuggled up closer to Keith’s side, tucking his head onto Keith’s shoulder as he turned the present in his hands over and over. “I’m really happy you had fun, Keith. I just… I just really wanted tonight to be special.”

“It was.” And Keith wasn’t lying. For the first time in a long, long while the holidays had brought something good with them again, something that made him feel like he belonged. It was a feeling he felt he’d been chasing for as long as he could remember, and that night, at least for a little while, he had it.

“Are you going to open your present?” He asked, when after another long moment neither one of them had moved.

“You first.”

“Uh, no,” Keith chuckled, “This time it’s your turn to go first.”

“Okay,” Lance said, and he could hear his grin in his tone. He tore through the sides, pulling the paper off and tossing it over to Feebs where she had set up shop under the tree again. He eyed the exposed white box curiously, turning it over slowly in his hands. “Is it jewelry?”

“Open it up and see.” Keith said, grinning softly as Lance did just that.

Inside, nestled on a bed of fluffy fibers, were two rings and a pendant. Lance paused a moment, obviously looking them over, before lifting one of the rings out of the box. It was of medium thickness, the outer border a deep sapphire while the center was silver with designs of seahorses and fish.

“It’s pretty, Keith,” Lance said softly, and Keith could hear the surprise in his voice. 

“They’re, uh, they’re spinner rings.” Keith said. He could feel Lance straighten up next to him, and he turned to find Lance looking straight at him. “You know, you can spin the center ring?”

“Seriously.” Lance said, still giving Keith that slightly-wide-eyed look, and Keith didn’t really know how to read that. 

Had he read it all wrong? Was this a bad idea? He thought Lance might find them useful - he was always moving, always fidgeting with something, his fingers always dancing along the edges of the table or playing with pens. 

“The other ring has like, the stars and moon on it,” Keith explained further, and then pointed at the pendant. “And that’s supposed to be Saturn, the rings all spin around in all sorts of directions.”

“That…” Lance cut himself off, or maybe his voice hitched a little, because now Keith could see the shine of understanding in his eyes, the grin pulling at his lips. “That is so awesome.”

Yeah, there was definitely a hitch in his voice, some emotion there, and maybe Keith hadn’t made a mistake.

“That is so… Keith, this is like, the nicest gift anyone’s ever given me,” Lance said. He put the first ring on, and Keith was happy to see it fit him well. With a grin, Lance gave it a spin, then another, laughing a little as he did so. “I always wanted one of these, but I just… you know I just never ended up getting any…”

“Well, you have two now.”

“And a Saturn.”

“And a Saturn.”

“Thank you,” Lance tore his eyes away from the ring and looked at Keith, holding his gaze for a moment before wrapping his arms around him. “Okay, you have to open yours now.”

“I know,” Keith said, and once Lance pulled away he got to work on it. The paper came off of a box that looked a step up from the standard clothes-box, with a dark green color to it and thicker cardboard. Keith had to work at the top cover to get it loose enough to slide off, but once it did it revealed what looked like… a blanket of mottled blue and deep purple.

He looked at it curiously, running a hand over the soft material before lifting it out of the box. He was surprised at how heavy it was - not like, ridiculously heavy but weighing way more than a blanket should.

“It’s a weighted blanket, there’s another one in there too of a different weight,” Lance explained, “You know, sometimes when you have those days when you just need to like, wrap up in the covers and blankets and everything? I thought these might help, you’ll get that same pressure but you won’t be overheating in like six blankets or whatever.”

“I didn’t know they made anything like this,” Keith looked at Lance with open wonder. “This is a thing?”

“Yeah, it’s totally a thing,” Lance replied with a grin. “I thought you might give it a try, maybe it’ll help?”

And Keith realized, in that moment, just what had happened. They’d both gotten each other something that could help them, something that could make their lives maybe a little easier.

“Thank you Lance,” He turned to his boyfriend, hoping that he could see the appreciation in his eyes. For the blankets, yeah, but for everything really. For everything that he’d done to make that night happen, for giving Keith back a taste of something he had forgotten, something he hadn’t realized he’d lost. He was so full right then, filled to bursting, that he didn’t know what to do with himself.

Reaching out, he ran his fingers through Lance’s hair, slid his hand down to cup his cheek and kissed him, softly and with as much emotion as he could try to transfer. He kissed him, and kissed him, and Lance kissed him back, grinning through every one as he wrapped his arms around Keith and pulled him close.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a comment and let me know what you think!
> 
> Also, if you're looking for that Flatwoods Monster mug? Here it is: https://www.designbyhumans.com/shop/mug/cryptid-tarot-series-the-flatwoods-monster/880232/  
> (uh, yeah I'm going to get me one!)


End file.
